As many of you know, the Lord has given me a special love and compassion for young adults. The fact that all six of our children, ages 19-30, currently qualify may have something to do with this, but serving 14 years as a full-time college professor, administrator and campus pastor probably plays an equal part. I am so thankful for the opportunity to continue to maintain meaningful connections with this critical community of emerging leaders as an adjunct professor, and I am deeply grateful to count many current and former students among my dearest friends and most sacred companions.
Not long ago I came across a recent study led by a San Diego State University professor which found that 75 percent of high school seniors say religion is not important to them. According to the research team leader, Jean Twenge, the “millennials” (young adults born after 1982) are the least religious generation in the U.S. in six decades, and maybe in the history of the country. Ironically, other studies (and my own experience) indicate they may be among the most spiritually sensitive and relationally receptive generations as well. Needless to say, this represents a perplexing paradox, but one thing is clear: there is a growing “generation gap” in our churches today.
As yearly meeting leaders, we are prayerfully considering ways that we might bridge this gap and create new pathways for young adults to reconnect with Christ and his Church. As a first step in this bridge-building process, Jeremiah and Wendy Williams, along with their daughter, Abi, will be moving from Haviland to Lawrence this summer to begin a new ministry in a community that has often been referred to as the “liberal oasis of the Midwest.” Lawrence is the sixth largest city in Kansas and has the largest proportion of millennials in the sunflower state. Lawrence also has the largest proportion of unchurched adults of any city in Kansas. Our hope and prayer is that the Lord will not only enable us to establish a redemptive, evangelical presence among young adults (and others) in Lawrence, but that what we learn from this new ministry, in a place that once served as the original headquarters for EFC-MAYM, will serve as a catalyst for the growth and development of similar ministries among young adults or “millennials” in other college towns across Mid-America.
While ministry to millennials is certainly not the sole focus of this year’s Ministry Conference, it must become a central feature of “living the dream” if we have any hope of “equipping the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.” We will be offering a special workshop on this very topic during our Ministry Training Camp, and both of our guest speakers (Jim Smith and Brad Brisco) will likely include some aspect of millennial ministry in their messages during our general sessions as well. You will find a few samples of their thinking by following the links on our Ministry Conference webpage.
We hope you can join us in Wichita during the week of July 22-26 as we gather for this year’s Ministry Conference, incorporating the 144th annual sessions of Evangelical Friends Church-Mid America Yearly Meeting. The early bird registration deadline is June 30, so don’t delay!
“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap.” – Ezekiel 22:30
– David O. Williams, General Superintendent
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